My parents were kind enough to take us in when we arrived in Indiana to begin looking for a home (Dwayne didn't come permanently until 6 weeks later). This might not seem like a big sacrifice, but the whole time we were there, they were trying to sell their house (and still are), so they/I had to deal with cleaning up after 3 little boys whenever there was a showing. Fortunately there really weren't that many, but I think it was always living in anticipation of one that got a little stressful. The boys were great considering all of the transitions they'd been through. Here they are dressing up as some sort of superheroes.


One of my survival mechanisms was PBS Kids. The concept of continuous TV was new to my boys, and once they realized that the shows just kept coming (we only had DVDs and videotapes in CA), they got pretty hooked--which was easy to do with a tired mother of a newborn who was happy to have them sitting in one place instead of potentially messing up a "showing-ready" house. We didn't let it get too out of hand, but they got really excited when a family friend gave us VIP passes to a special breakfast before "PBS Kids in the Park," an annual event in downtown Indianapolis. They even got their pictures with Super Why and Wonder Red. We've enjoyed lots of activities and games on the website since.

Starting at the beginning of the year and later, while Dwayne was apart from the rest of the family for several weeks in April, May, and June, he trained for and ran a half-marathon with his friend, John Chamberlain. (Note: Cheerios was not an official sponsor). He was pleased with the progress he made over several months of training. Watching him run freely made me a little jealous during the final, semi-mobile stage of pregnancy and the confinement of the newborn stage, and I almost resolved to start running once I was a little less tied-down with a baby, but somehow I haven't made it to that point yet. Exercising just for the sake of exercise has always been hard for me, unless of course it's modern dancing or a fun tap routine. I'm still waiting for an adult beginners modern dance class to be listed in our community ed catalog. Then I'll have no excuse.

"Frontrunner," the new commuter train that runs from Ogden to Salt Lake City, had its opening day while we were in Utah. They were offering free rides, so the boys rode south with Grandpa Draper while Kara and Daniel took the van on I-15 and met them in Salt Lake. We enjoyed being able to visit with family in friends in Utah. Eventually it was time to load up the car once again, however, and head to our next destination, Colorado Springs. We were able to see several dear friends, attend our old ward, and enjoy the company, meals, and hospitality at Dwayne's grandparents'.

Next stop was Kansas. Dwayne's parents always put so much thought and effort into making their time with the grandkids meaningful and memorable. Dwayne's dad took the boys to the dollar store to pick out a toy, and they came home with these "water-squirters." A well-spent dollar, if you ask me. They entertained them for hours during that visit and for weeks later as we spent time at the pool.


Riding the go-cart was probably the highlight of Simon's summer. Stuart was a little less enthusiastic at first, but warmed right up to the idea after a couple of rounds in the church parking lot.

Simon and Stuart love their little brother and love to imitate what adults do and say to take care of him. When Daniel is crying, Simon will often say (in a soft, high voice), "I know, I know, I know you had a rough night. It's okay, baby." So far they haven't tried anything dangerous with him and are usually aware of his presence in the room and careful not to step on him, so I hope that kind of treatment continues. Here are various shots of the brothers.


Our last trip to the beach in California. Unfortunately the day was freezing and it was dinnertime (but I had promised!), so the visit lasted about five minutes.

Helping Daddy get dressed for work.

A visit with Aunt Janelle during our ten days in Utah.

So Friday we moved into the temporary lodging on the base, Saturday we moved all of our household goods into storage, Sunday was Easter, and Monday we had a baby! It definitely ranks as one of the more eventful long weekends of our lives. Monday evening we left the boys with Kara's mom at the place on base and drove down to Santa Maria to do some cleaning and organizing at the house. On the drive, I started having contractions, but they were fairly mild and ten minutes apart, so when we arrived at the house, Dwayne went running with a friend as planned, and I worked on some things in the house. The contractions started getting stronger, so I called a friend up the street to warn her she might be taking me to the hospital if our husbands weren't back from their run soon. Fortunately, Dwayne got back just as I was feeling completely confident that this was the real thing. He took a quick shower and we headed to the hospital (not without a quick [the length of one full contraction, to be exact!] stop at In-N-Out Burger for Dwayne to get a chocolate shake). I was admitted around 8:30 PM, they broke my water, and Daniel Brian Kisby was born at 10:04 PM. I knew it would be a fast labor (Stuart was very fast), and I was so happy that the timing of everything worked out so well. I can't say it was easy, but if I shared details of the labor, many women would be jealous, so I'll leave it at that. Daniel weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He has dark brown hair, with just a little on top and a lot in the back. It looks sort of like receding hairline, but since he's just starting out, we'll call it "progressing."



Dwayne, my mom, and the boys came to visit in the hospital. Simon and Stuart were both fascinated by their little brother, although Simon's interest lasted a little longer. Stuart was quickly pushing the empty bassinet around the room with vrooming noises and crashing it into beds, walls, and medical equipment.

By the Friday before Easter, we had moved into the TLF (Air Force acronym for Temporary Lodging Facility) on base. It was like a long-term furnished hotel, complete with three bedrooms, two baths, laundry, kitchen, and housekeeping service. Though we obviously would have rather stayed in our rental house a little longer, we definitely couldn't complain about the arrangements on base. On Saturday afternoon we decorated eggs with Grandma Draper and rested from the events of the move.




Our friends, John and Beth Chamberlain, invited us for Easter dinner on Sunday and their teenage kids put together an Easter egg hunt for the boys. There was definitely no shortage of sugar this year! We enjoyed a delicious dinner and spending the evening with our friends.

We began the packing process as soon as we found out we had to leave our rental house, but the boxes really started to pile up in early March in preparation for everything going into storage on March 22nd. The boys were usually eager to help and are here transporting empty boxes from our back storage shed into the house to be filled.


This is the pile of boxes that we had packed a few days before the move. The boys were constantly climbing them, so we'll see how the contents fared once we open them. They also had fun poking holes in the sides of them with pencils. Several missing pencils later, we realized Stuart had been putting the pencils all the way through the holes.

Kara's mom arrived on the 20th of March, just in time to be very helpful with the move. Most of our kitchen was packed up by the time she came, so meals once she arrived were scavenged from the freezer and served on things like tupperware lids and yogurt containers. She was so helpful in organizing the last minute details, especially as Kara was slowing down a little bit due to the imminent arrival of the baby due the next week. Several friends from church and Dwayne's work came to help load the truck and take everything to the storage unit. Dwayne estimated just right on the size of storage we'd need--we filled it to the very last foot.

Dwayne's grandparents have been spending the winter months near Phoenix and decided to pay us a visit a couple of weeks ago. They are so helpful and fun to have around. We enjoyed a trip up to Avila Beach on the one sunny day during the time they were here.


Here's me and 36-week-old baby. He's due on March 26th, although I'm hoping he'll come a few days sooner so I don't have to travel the extra distance to the hospital from the base, where we'll be living at that point. My labor with Stuart was VERY fast, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure it will all work out.

Dwayne won the Medical Group level "Officer of the Year" award, and we were able to attend a base-wide awards ceremony and dinner. In his almost four years in the Air Force, it was the first time I'd seen him in his "mess" dress, which I find to be an ironic name for the most formal uniform they have. Anyways, he didn't receive the award at the base level, but it was fun to be able to dress up, go out on a date, and hear a little more about what he does at work every day.


Here I am celebrating my 30th birthday. Doesn't seem like I've been around for three decades, but I guess it's true. Simon and I had been reading a book the weeks before called, "Cook-a-doodle-do!" about a rooster descendant of the Little Red Hen who loves to cook and makes delicious strawberry shortcake, so I decided that's what I wanted for my birthday treat--nighttime treat, that is. For breakfast we had chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's frozen section. The boys and I would highly recommend them! Dwayne and Simon made a delicious shortcake and we shared it after a yummy dinner out at a local place called, "American Flatbread."


So for those who don't know, Dwayne is separating from the Air Force this July. We were hoping to stay in this home that we're renting until then, but at the end of January received notice that we had to be out in 60 days (they're trying desperately to sell the home, but beyond that didn't give us any explanation of why), yep, 5 days after our baby is due. Some friends who recently moved here conveniently gave us all of their boxes and packing materials, so that has been a huge help in getting everything boxed up and ready to put into storage later this month, when we'll move into furnished temporary Air Force housing until the baby and I are well enough to travel. At that point (our guess is in early May), the boys and I will move to Indiana (where Dwayne has accepted a job at Riley Children's Hospital), look for a house and hang out with my parents and sisters, and then Dwayne will join us in late June, when his terminal leave (the vacation days he hasn't used up) from the Air Force begins. So things have been a little crazy around here, but the fact that many of the boys' toys are already boxed up has actually encouraged creative play. In the above picture, they had converted some packing paper into life vests and were diving off a boat into the water below. We've found that boxes make fun kid-sized boats, rocket ships, and race cars, and can also be arranged to make ramps for monster truck races.

The plastic covering on the crib mattress got torn, so the reamaining piece of foam, covered with an old fitted sheet, has become a very useful tumbling mat. Dwayne's grandparents were recently here visiting and taught Simon to do what he now calls "PLFs," parachute landing falls. They've been practicing somersaults and various other stunts. I'm always amazed that more of what they do doesn't result in injuries.

We spent our first Christmas in our own home this year. Since our marriage, we've mostly alternated spending it at our parents' homes, so it seemed strange to be planning meals and events that will likely become our traditions. The boys had fun helping to decorate the tree, although we noticed that as they got tired, most ornaments seemed to end up clustered in one spot, near the bottom.



Dwayne's parents, sister, Shauna, and other sister, Janelle with husband, Keith, and new baby, Lily all came to visit for the the week surrounding Christmas Day. We all wanted to watch a BYU game on the 22nd, so (since we have no channels) we hauled stuff for an ice cream and game-watching party over to some friends' home where we were cat-sitting (with their prior permission, of course). I think it was Simon and Stuart's first experience with televised sports, and Simon was surprisingly interested. He liked the tackles the best.
Stuart was most interested in the ice cream, as was I.

We wanted to provide a true California Christmas, so planned a trip to the beach on Christmas Eve. Fortunately the weather cooperated (except for some serious wind) and we were able to enjoy lunch and exploration on the "Boathouse Beach," at Vandenberg Air Force Base. We were the only ones there and saw lots of pelicans, seals, shells and rocks.




On Christmas Eve we allowed the kids to open up a pair of pajamas and a book. I had made pajama pants for the boys and insisted that Lily wear a matching headband.Simon's reaction was so funny as he opened the pajama pants. He tore back the paper and exclaimed sincerely, "Fabric! Just what I always wanted!" having seen the material at my sewing table earlier in the week. We had to convince him to examine a little more closely to see that the fabric was now in a wearable state.


As we read the nativity story from Luke 2, Simon randomly decided to try on some of the stockings and walk around the room in them.

Soon after all of our guests left, Stuart transitioned into Simon's old toddler bed, as we had set up the bottom of a new set of bunk beds for Simon. This was one of Stuart's first nights "in" his new bed. He's done very well since, however, and our only regret is that he's free to come visit us in bed as early as he wants in the morning.

A friend lent Simon this Buzz Lightyear costume which gave us lots of laughs over several days.

Simon celebrated his 4th birthday on January 12th. It's hard to believe we've been parents for that many years--it's definitely gone by very quickly! He wanted a Lightning McQueen cake, a pan for which a friend fortunately had. Dwayne showed off one of his many artistic/domestic skills in frosting it. A couple families came over for homemade pizza for lunch (Simon's special pizza topping combo was pesto, black olives, and sausage). Later in the afternoon, Dwayne had arranged a visit for Simon and a friend (and the friend's dad) to the local firestation. They had a great time!